Hey guys,
I am so used to my first gen TL and not much idea about the oil required for the 2013 RDX. Regular or synthetic.

Does anybody else have issues connecting your acuralink via ATT iphone? It gets stuck on Step one of the screen. Any ideas as to what I am missing?

 

I plan to use synthetic with Acura's brand oil filter. The break-in period is 600 miles per manual, but I will wait at least 3k miles or first reminder before the switch.

I cannot connect with Acuralink either, to do so, your phone must be able to do bluetooth tethering (typically provider enabled unless rooted).

 

new RDX...regular. follow your MID, read your owner's manual for the rest of the maintenance items (most of them will be indicated by your car's MID system, follow it, and your car will be happy).

not sure about the acuralink.

 

^^^ What she says too. I don't bother with synthetic nor do I change the oil unless my MID indicates. Can't be faulted for following the Manufacturer's recommendation...I figure they design the vehicle, they should know what is best for it.

 

Just want to point out for the low mileage drivers... You change the oil when the MID indicates, however, if one year has past without it indicating you must change the oil before the thirteenth month or risk voiding the warranty.

 

I didn't know that...Glad to have done mine already but I do qualify for the low mileage driver That being said, its funny how they claim that the MID monitors the driving conditions and will make the necessary adjustment...you would think that it would take into account the time factor too If its smart enough to know if I am doing lots of stop/go and driving in dusty environment, why can't it tell if its sitting in my garage resting *lol*

 

I would guess that would be a pretty easy one to win given that MID should take that into account nor that it is advertised anywhere

 

About your other question with iphone: last I heard it will not work. Apple uses a different type of Bluetooth implementation for data transfer. All BlackBerries will work, I think most Androids should work as well. Check the forums, I think there are various threads about this.

 

Page 273 of the US Owners Manual:

CODE Maintenance Main Items

A ● Replace engine oil*1

*1

: If the message SERVICE does not appear more than 12 months after the display is reset, change the engine oil every year.

The following is from Acura Care Extended Warranty. I don't have a copy of the regular warranty to quote but I would find it hard to believe it does not have something very similar.

Regular Maintenance
To keep your contract valid, you must adhere to the manufacturer’s recommended maintenance schedule that is outlined in your Owner’s manual. While it is recommend that your local Acura dealer perform this service since they know your vehicle best, the manufacturer’s recommended maintenance may be performed anywhere as long as you have records that prove the maintenance was done. Maintenance performed within 1,000 miles and/or 30 days of the interval recommended in your Owner’s Manual shall be deemed compliant. You may be requested to supply maintenance records for recommended services that are related to a failure.

 

Thanks Guys

 

Wanted to ask a question on the maintenance minder. Is that all you need to follow to stay in Warranty? (A 12345) Aside from the 12 month rule..

Never had a NEW car, so I'm a little anxious about ensuring I don't get SHAFTED for missing something stupid. In older cars, I remember there was an actual schedule - XX KM do this, XXX KM do that..

 

follow MID. there are no mileage intervals for maintenance on Acuras. the car tells you what is needed. there are trends on when certain services get done but just follow your MID. every drives differently and the car will know that and ask for service accordingly. i've had my TL for 7 yrs now and followed the MID since new without issue. the only thing outside of the MID is the brake fluid which is every 3 yrs.

 

Regular oil throughout the life of the car? I understand the logic behind using regular oil for the first few oil changes because sometimes synthetic oil can be too slippery to properly seat in the piston rings during the break in period. Afterwards, synthetic oil should be used because it is much more efficient for your engine in terms of lubrication and reduced engine wear.

 

i'm not going to get into the oil debate with you....there are plenty of threads that do that.

the 1G RDX required synthetic b/c of the turbo engine. all other acuras use dino and the car won't know if you're running synthetic or not.

you can run synthetic, you can run regular dino (with today's motor oil...)...it's a choice. it took all of 7 yrs and 56k miles for me to finally switch to synthetic in my TL. i have yet to switch in my MDX.

 

Use what you are comfortable with. Have used regular oil the majority of my car's life. It had about 3 synthenic blend oil changes. No oil leaks, no oil consumption, runs excellent, after 5 1/2 years and almost 141K miles.

 

Hi guys. I am a newbie who went from a 01 Camry to a 13 RDX and I have a question. Does the MID warning displays in the instrument panel if the RDX needs servicing or do I have to go by the oil percentage?

Thanks Much. (This forum is awesome.)

 

I have personally talked to Regional Service Reps about the MID and oil change issues. Go by the MID. I've been told to change when it shows 15%. Longest...1 year...for those that don't drive much.

These new tighter engines that are now using 0w20 weight oil was hard for me to get used to. But, I've learned that Honda Motor Corp. knows what they are doing.

Now...especially with the original oil in the "new" Honda/Acura vehicle. LEAVE it in until the 15% MID info. showing. The factory installed oil...IS a special break in oil for these very close tolerance engines. Honda M.C. DOES want this oil to stay in until the 15% mark in order to get a proper engine break in. ALSO...follow your Owner's Manual on proper driving/break-in driving procedures. For the brakes also.

That is straight from H.M.C. engine engineers. I called. Trust me on this. I was skeptical at first going back to my '07 CRV. But, I follow what they say is best for these engines.

Now, if the RDX MID shows my cabin filter needs to be replaced and I take it out and determine it's really not dirty, I will ignore that and change that filter when I want or need to. In a way that can be a "money making" issue by Acura......to tell you.."hey, time to change your cabin filter, and then charge an arm and leg at the dealer for the filter and install.
Filters can be bought elsewhere and the install is simple....you can do it.

Take care all.

 

the MID will tell you. the display will go orange and ding at you once you reach<15% oil life. a code will show like "A1". most likely your first service. then it'll ask for a B service at the next interval. and alternate with additional codes as you continue to add miles on the car (like B23 or A12 etc).

if you wait for the oil life to trickle to <10% or <5%...the car will ding and flash the service due message at you more frequently everytime you start the car (i get annoyed with the display on my dash at <15% so i take it in for service when i can at that point to get the car to shut up).

it takes a lot of thinking out of the maintenance of the car since the car will let you know. follow the MID and you're good to go.

 

AF Guy - Not sure if the RDX MID indicates when a cabin filter is needed but I would change it if and when it does no matter how it looks visually. Most cars have an electronic component that controls the blower fan speed by resistance and the excess heat created is dissapaited by mounting the heat generating portion of it in the plenum downstream of the filters. It does not take much restriction in the filter to cause the component to overheat and eventually fail (lower fan speeds work, higher speeds don't).

 

i believe all the newer acura's 3G TLs, TSX, 2G RLs, 2G MDX and RDXs all have a cabin filter code built into the MID designated "2". it will typically code around 20-25k mi. my TL has coded an A or B with the 2 twice in it's life (of course i'm in the low mileage TL club at 56k mi).

 

TLtrigirl .... You are correct. The MID does display when Acura feels you need to change the cabin filter.
Dorsey.....That filter would have to be extremely dirty to cause what you describe. To clarify my point, I feel the MID code to change that filter is not as an exact type "alert" that the oil change time is. That filter, if it is based on mileage....and I believe it is....it could need changed much earlier or somewhat later than the MID says. Eyeballing that filter is no different than eyeballing the engine air filter. Only it's easier with the cabin filter. I've changed many cabin filters.

 

2013 RDX manual says use 0w-20 which is by default synthetic

 

So apparently my 2014 model has synthetic blend and the dealer will change your oil for free as long as it's always at that dealership.

Anyone know what that runs, normally?

 

I was told today by the dealer (Honda dealer) that my 2013 takes semi-synthetic. I've been going to the same guy for years so I trust him inherently. Also, with a quick google search, it says that the RDX requires semi-synthetic.